Free from Harm

10/07/2026

Check out the podcast with guest Anita Krajnc of Plant Based Treaty discussing the new open letter campaign urging tech leaders to support and fund plant-based advocacy!

In this episode, I’m joined by Anita Krajnc. Anita is the co-founder of the Plant Based Treaty and the founder and executive director of The Save Movement.

09/28/2026

Free from Harm is proud to be a founding member of the Beyond Cage-Free Coalition, targeting some of the biggest private funders of food system change to fully support plant-based advocacy and systems.

The open letter is now accepting signatures from movement and organizational leaders, as well as other major stakeholders in our food system, including Congresspeople, EU Parliamentarians, and UN officials. More information is coming soon on ways you can get involved in growing our open letter. If you can sign representing an organization or know someone that can, please feel free to share this letter.

In a nutshell. the letter calls on Effective Altruists to pivot their massive investments away from welfarist reforms toward a holistic plant-based approach that creates multiplier benefits for animals, climate, health, food security, and reduced pandemic risk.

Read the open letter here:

Beyond Cage Free: An action plan for a plant based future.

09/22/2026

Please take action today and email Secretary Rollins at [email protected]
(Suggested script below)

Right on the heels of their ice cream social promoting the dairy industry, USDA Secretary Rollins and HHS Secretary Kennedy held a press conference at the White House to announce their Animal Strike Force. This new program steps up the administration's efforts to crack down on puppy mills and dogs used in research, yet Rollins references Genesis and our responsibility to protect ALL animals.

In the United States, approximately 37,000 to 40,000 dogs are used in research and experiments each year, whereas more than 10 billion land-based farmed animals (and billions of fish) are raised and killed for food annually, according to Humane World for Animals.

This is a great opportunity for animal advocates to send a strong message to Rollins and RFK that promoting the dairy industry while condemning the dog breeding and testing industry is misleading, contradictory and confusing.

https://www.youtube.com/live/00WWt8SlTbM?si=TdtTeYRm9oyr8uaN

*Suggested Script for email:

Secretary Rollins,

It's inconsistent and misleading to promote the dairy industry with your ice cream social and then to hold a press conference to announce your so-called Animal Strike Force. In the United States, approximately 37,000 to 40,000 dogs are used in research and experiments each year, whereas more than 10 billion land-based farmed animals (and billions of fish) are raised and killed for food annually, according to Humane World for Animals. The message you are sending is that cruelty to animals who suffer for profit is okay except for dogs. I urge you to clarify your position and intention to protect ALL animals, based on the Genesis reference you cited.

09/18/2026

MAGA commentator Bill Mitchell is facing a growing pushback on social media after suggesting Americans switch to veggie burgers to avoid higher beef costs, which have been climbing in recent months as the U.S. cattle supply shrinks.

By Giulia CarbonaroSenior Reporter0ShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberSee more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.MAGA commentator Bill Mitchell is facing a growing pushback on social media after suggesting America...

09/16/2026

After 4 die at slaughterhouse plant, workers walk out...

A worker died in an accident at Smithfield Foods in Monmouth Monday.

09/09/2026

Trump's Agriculture secretary rejects Democrats' 'fake meat' push: 'Don't stop eating meat' https://www.foxbusiness.com/media/rollins-rejects-democrats-fake-meat-push-dont-stop-eating-meat

"There was a massive push under the last administration to eat less meat. Could you imagine? Don’t stop eating meat. There was a massive push under the Democrats to eat fake meat and lab-grown meat," Rollins said.

09/02/2026

An immensely important read from Krista Hiddema! Here's an excerpt...

"I now believe that welfare reforms such as cage-free campaigns may be slowing the progress of our movement—not because reducing suffering is unimportant, but because these campaigns have received a disproportionate share of our funding, talent, and organizational capacity. This concentration of resources has left far less room to develop and test other approaches, including those aimed at reducing animal use, changing public attitudes, building political power, and offering up plant based alternatives. Welfare reforms may also allow the industry to present modified forms of animal agriculture as sufficient progress. This does not mean that such reforms have no value. It means that we need to ask whether our investment in them has become so dominant that it has limited other work and has also limited us from seeing what our movement could have done and can imagine and achieve moving forward." — Krista Hiddema

Over the past several months, I have been reading article after article about where parts of the farmed animal movement may be heading.

09/01/2026

How is AI impacting farmed animals? The slaughter industry is using robots to slaughter animals more efficiently and respond to shortages of workers willing to do the gruesome work. Details in this report... https://www.cell.com/one-earth/fulltext/S2590-3322(23)00347-0

08/25/2026

Despite millions in funding and years of campaigning for welfare reforms for hens, the egg industry is growing. The USDA says 9.3 million eggs were produced last month, an increase of 4% on the year, as the number of laying hens grew 4% to 378.535 million a bird. https://www.brownfieldagnews.com/news/higher-number-of-laying-hens-boosts-egg-production/

We need to be able to reflect on what's working and what's not. Being adaptive and innovative is critical to making progress as a movement. We know that the plant-based foods sector is growing, despite a lack of support from advocacy groups, investors and Congress. It's up to us to create that support. Even with this lack of support, we have made great strides.

U.S. egg production was up in July. The USDA says 9.3 million eggs were produced last month, an increase of 4% on the year, as the number of laying hens grew 4% to 378.535 million head while the average number of eggs per 100 layers was unchanged at 2,457 eggs. Future expansion plans look mixed […...